Who deserved their award this year?
The Pistons don't play until Saturday, and I feel empty. This time of year, I live through them vicariously, and when they're idle, I feel the same way. I expect them to play every other day. But they need their rest and so do my State of the Pistons addresses, so here are my thoughts on the NBA awards, the _______s of the Year...
COACH: Avery Johnson ... He did a nice job in Dallas this year and is surely among the league's best coaches, but I felt the award should have gone elsewhere this season, and the place was Los Angeles.
Both the Clippers and the Lakers made the Playoffs this season. For the Lakers, it wasn't a huge surprise, given that any team with Kobe Bryant has a shot to win any game on any night. But his supporting cast was mediocre at best, and the man who willed the Lake Show to the postseason was Phil Jackson, there's no doubt about that. They won 11 more games than they did last season. The man who's won nine titles in his coaching career has been awarded the COY only once. This year, PJ deserved number two.
The other tenant of Staples Center, the Clippers, made the Playoffs for the first time in 25 years this season. They won 10 more games this year than last. Their head man, Mike Dunleavy, was a big reason for that. He emphasized defense among a bunch of good offensive players, and the fact that they're still alive in these Playoffs, giving the Suns all they can handle in the Western Conference semis, says a lot. Either he or PJ should have gotten the nod instead of Avery.
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Boris Diaw ... I agree with this one. To tell you the truth, I had never even heard of the guy before this year. He's only 6'8'', but he goes out and guards centers every night. He also averaged 13, 7 and 6 after posting microscopic career numbers previously. Will he ever be an All-Star? Probably not. But if his improvement continues steadily, look out.
SIXTH MAN: Mike Miller ... Had Ben Gordon not found his way into Chicago's starting lineup by midseason, I would be up in arms over this selection. Or if Dallas's Jerry Stackhouse hadn't spent the bulk of the year out due to injury, he'd be a worthy recipient. Also, if Detroit's Antonio McDyess had begun his campaign like he finished it -- meaning he didn't start playing well until the second half of the season -- I would have argued for him, too. He's clearly the Sixth Man of the Playoffs, that's for sure. But to give it to Miller for his regular season exploits seemed fitting. The 6'8'' sharp-shooting former Gator was efficient all year long for the Grizzlies, scoring 14 a game and hitting 40 percent of his 3-pointers. The Hornets' Speedy Claxton took second place, but his team was far worse than Memphis.
ROOKIE: Chris Paul ... Absolutely the most deserving ROY in years. Paul did everything for his team this season, averaging 16 and 8 while spearheading the 20-win improvement the NO/OK Hornets built after a dismal '04-'05. On draft day, I would have chosen Deron Williams or Andrew Bogut to be more likely winners of this award, but they didn't have as much of an effect on their teams. Bogut's made the Playoffs, and Williams -- who I think could be the next Jason Kidd -- put up 11 and 5. But Paul's presence was more influential. He'll be an All-Star within two years.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER: Ben Wallace ... Had Ron Artest had a full season, he'd be the only other player even close to touching Ben on the defensive end. Bruce Bowen in San Antonio is good, but he doesn't lock down everyone he guards. Artest comes close. Wallace succeeds. Big Ben doesn't just defend his guy, he defends everybody -- point guard or big, in his area or 20 feet away. He's incredible at recognizing a driver and coming over to provide the help for his teammate. His feet are unbelievably quick. It helps that his surrounding teammates are terrific defenders, too (Tayshaun and Chaunce both made the All-D second team). But until another help defender comes along that's better than Big Ben, he could win this award until he retires. He has that dog in him that will push him to block and steal and take charges with the same frequency until he's ready to hang 'em up.
MVP: Steve Nash ... No way, not this year. Perhaps the voters who awarded it to him last year felt that since his numbers improved this season he deserved it again. Well, he didn't. The reason for those inflated numbers was the absence of Amare Stoudemire. Some could argue that since he was gone and the Suns were still good, he was even more worthy of the award, but that's hogwash. If you take Nash out of that lineup and start Leandro Barbosa all season long, the Suns still make the Playoffs. That's because Barbosa is ten times the defender Nash is, pretty comparable as a scorer, just not as good a passer. So who should have won it?
Chauncey Billups was a candidate, but I think his teammates are so good that to give him the award would diminish the concept of team play.
LeBron James had a sick year, posting numbers unbelievable for a 21-year-old and forcing people to admit that yes, they were witnesses. His triple-double average for a season and his own MVP are not too far off. But the man who should have won wore No. 8.
Kobe Bryant averaged 35 points a game. He scored 81 on one midseason night of magnificence. He made guys like Smush Parker and Kwame Brown -- guys who had formerly not even walked and chewed gum at the same time successfully -- look like legitimate pros. You take him out of their lineup, the Lakers win 15 games, 20 at best. The same could be argued for an absence of LeBron in Cleveland, but the difference between the King and Kobe is on the defensive end of the floor. Kobe gets in your grill. He's on the All-D first team. He's such a competitor, he'd rather have his opponent score zero and him one than his opponent score 34 and him 35. He locks down. LeBron simply waits for the offensive possession to begin. Watch him in Game 3 Saturday. He coasts around, rarely gets his hand into shots, and doesn't fight through screens. He waits. That said, he's a better defender than Nash, which makes me wonder even more why Nash won the award. In the end, it's up to a select number of writers -- not players, coaches and fans -- who vote, and if I ever have a say, I'll do my best to justify it more effectively than any of them could, if asked, this year.
*Just an idea: What if the awards were voted on and handed out after the postseason. Then any close races could be justified if players' teams went deeper into the Playoffs. And perhaps MVP candidates could even match up against each other in late Playoff series, like a potential Billups/Nash encounter in the Finals. If that happened, no doubt the award would find its way to Motown...
COACH: Avery Johnson ... He did a nice job in Dallas this year and is surely among the league's best coaches, but I felt the award should have gone elsewhere this season, and the place was Los Angeles.
Both the Clippers and the Lakers made the Playoffs this season. For the Lakers, it wasn't a huge surprise, given that any team with Kobe Bryant has a shot to win any game on any night. But his supporting cast was mediocre at best, and the man who willed the Lake Show to the postseason was Phil Jackson, there's no doubt about that. They won 11 more games than they did last season. The man who's won nine titles in his coaching career has been awarded the COY only once. This year, PJ deserved number two.
The other tenant of Staples Center, the Clippers, made the Playoffs for the first time in 25 years this season. They won 10 more games this year than last. Their head man, Mike Dunleavy, was a big reason for that. He emphasized defense among a bunch of good offensive players, and the fact that they're still alive in these Playoffs, giving the Suns all they can handle in the Western Conference semis, says a lot. Either he or PJ should have gotten the nod instead of Avery.
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Boris Diaw ... I agree with this one. To tell you the truth, I had never even heard of the guy before this year. He's only 6'8'', but he goes out and guards centers every night. He also averaged 13, 7 and 6 after posting microscopic career numbers previously. Will he ever be an All-Star? Probably not. But if his improvement continues steadily, look out.
SIXTH MAN: Mike Miller ... Had Ben Gordon not found his way into Chicago's starting lineup by midseason, I would be up in arms over this selection. Or if Dallas's Jerry Stackhouse hadn't spent the bulk of the year out due to injury, he'd be a worthy recipient. Also, if Detroit's Antonio McDyess had begun his campaign like he finished it -- meaning he didn't start playing well until the second half of the season -- I would have argued for him, too. He's clearly the Sixth Man of the Playoffs, that's for sure. But to give it to Miller for his regular season exploits seemed fitting. The 6'8'' sharp-shooting former Gator was efficient all year long for the Grizzlies, scoring 14 a game and hitting 40 percent of his 3-pointers. The Hornets' Speedy Claxton took second place, but his team was far worse than Memphis.
ROOKIE: Chris Paul ... Absolutely the most deserving ROY in years. Paul did everything for his team this season, averaging 16 and 8 while spearheading the 20-win improvement the NO/OK Hornets built after a dismal '04-'05. On draft day, I would have chosen Deron Williams or Andrew Bogut to be more likely winners of this award, but they didn't have as much of an effect on their teams. Bogut's made the Playoffs, and Williams -- who I think could be the next Jason Kidd -- put up 11 and 5. But Paul's presence was more influential. He'll be an All-Star within two years.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER: Ben Wallace ... Had Ron Artest had a full season, he'd be the only other player even close to touching Ben on the defensive end. Bruce Bowen in San Antonio is good, but he doesn't lock down everyone he guards. Artest comes close. Wallace succeeds. Big Ben doesn't just defend his guy, he defends everybody -- point guard or big, in his area or 20 feet away. He's incredible at recognizing a driver and coming over to provide the help for his teammate. His feet are unbelievably quick. It helps that his surrounding teammates are terrific defenders, too (Tayshaun and Chaunce both made the All-D second team). But until another help defender comes along that's better than Big Ben, he could win this award until he retires. He has that dog in him that will push him to block and steal and take charges with the same frequency until he's ready to hang 'em up.
MVP: Steve Nash ... No way, not this year. Perhaps the voters who awarded it to him last year felt that since his numbers improved this season he deserved it again. Well, he didn't. The reason for those inflated numbers was the absence of Amare Stoudemire. Some could argue that since he was gone and the Suns were still good, he was even more worthy of the award, but that's hogwash. If you take Nash out of that lineup and start Leandro Barbosa all season long, the Suns still make the Playoffs. That's because Barbosa is ten times the defender Nash is, pretty comparable as a scorer, just not as good a passer. So who should have won it?
Chauncey Billups was a candidate, but I think his teammates are so good that to give him the award would diminish the concept of team play.
LeBron James had a sick year, posting numbers unbelievable for a 21-year-old and forcing people to admit that yes, they were witnesses. His triple-double average for a season and his own MVP are not too far off. But the man who should have won wore No. 8.
Kobe Bryant averaged 35 points a game. He scored 81 on one midseason night of magnificence. He made guys like Smush Parker and Kwame Brown -- guys who had formerly not even walked and chewed gum at the same time successfully -- look like legitimate pros. You take him out of their lineup, the Lakers win 15 games, 20 at best. The same could be argued for an absence of LeBron in Cleveland, but the difference between the King and Kobe is on the defensive end of the floor. Kobe gets in your grill. He's on the All-D first team. He's such a competitor, he'd rather have his opponent score zero and him one than his opponent score 34 and him 35. He locks down. LeBron simply waits for the offensive possession to begin. Watch him in Game 3 Saturday. He coasts around, rarely gets his hand into shots, and doesn't fight through screens. He waits. That said, he's a better defender than Nash, which makes me wonder even more why Nash won the award. In the end, it's up to a select number of writers -- not players, coaches and fans -- who vote, and if I ever have a say, I'll do my best to justify it more effectively than any of them could, if asked, this year.
*Just an idea: What if the awards were voted on and handed out after the postseason. Then any close races could be justified if players' teams went deeper into the Playoffs. And perhaps MVP candidates could even match up against each other in late Playoff series, like a potential Billups/Nash encounter in the Finals. If that happened, no doubt the award would find its way to Motown...
posted by RGarfield @ 11:14 PM
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